Archives for May 2015

A Time for Rest and Worship

The Sabbath—which means “rest”—is the seventh day of the Hebrew week (Ge 2:2–3). The Israelites were commanded to keep this day as a holy day of rest, reflection and recreation in honor of the Lord (Ex 20:8–11).

The Sabbath served to remind the Israelites of their identity as God’s covenant people and of their deliverance from Egypt (Ex 31:12–17; Dt 5:15; Isa 58:13–14). It was a day that offered refreshment from work, both spiritually and physically (Ex 23:10–12). Traditionally, Jews spend three days each week in eager anticipation of the Sabbath, then after it has passed, three days reflecting on its joy. The Old Testament has very sharp reminders to keep the Sabbath day (Isa 56:2; Jer 17:19–27; Eze 44:24), as well as harsh punishment for a person who broke the Sabbath (Nu 15:32–36).

The Lord’s Day, by comparison, was considered to be the “first day” of the week. A sign of the new beginning marked by the resurrection of Jesus from the tomb, the Lord’s Day quickly became the day on which the early church met for weekly worship (Ac 20:7; 1Co 16:2). Yet rest remains an important part of the Lord’s Day.

The Lord’s Day is not to be filled with legalism, for that is what Christ frequently rebuked in his day. It should be the joyful focal point of the week, a day eagerly anticipated by the believer. We should approach it physically rested and attitudinally ready for the Lord to reveal himself to us (Ps 118:24).

Something to Boast About

The New Testament correlates faith and grace to make sure that we do not boast in what grace alone achieves.

One of the most familiar examples goes like this: “For by grace you have been saved through faith” (Ephesians 2:8). By grace, through faith. There’s the correlation that guards the freedom of grace.

Faith is the act of our soul that turns away from our own insufficiency to the free and all-sufficient resources of God. Faith focuses on the freedom of God to dispense grace to the unworthy. It banks on the bounty of God.

Therefore faith, by its very nature, nullifies boasting and fits with grace. Wherever faith looks, it sees grace behind every praiseworthy act. So it cannot boast, except in the Lord.

So Paul, after saying that salvation is by grace through faith, says, “And this is not of your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast” (Ephesians 2:8–9). Faith cannot boast in human goodness or competence or wisdom, because faith focuses on the free, all-supplying grace of God. Whatever goodness faith sees, it sees as the fruit of grace.

When it looks at our “wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption,” it says, “Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord” (1 Corinthians 1:30–31).

The next friend to speak is Bildad. Job responds to Bildad and then expresses his confusion to God.

An Anguished Argument

Read

“‘You formed me with your hands; you made me, yet now you completely destroy me. Remember that you made me from dust—will you turn me back to dust so soon? You guided my conception and formed me in the womb. You clothed me with skin and flesh, and you knit my bones and sinews together. You gave me life and showed me your unfailing love. My life was preserved by your care.

“‘Yet your real motive—your true intent—was to watch me, and if I sinned, you would not forgive my guilt. If I am guilty, too bad for me; and even if I’m innocent, I can’t hold my head high, because I am filled with shame and misery. And if I hold my head high, you hunt me like a lion and display your awesome power against me. Again and again you witness against me. You pour out your growing anger on me and bring fresh armies against me.’”
(Job 10:8-17)

Reflect

In frustration, Job jumped to the conclusion that God was out to get him. He could only see life from his human perspective and had no idea of the bigger picture or the end of the story. His focus, quite naturally, was on his current predicament and not on God’s purpose and goodness.

Like Job, our perspective is extremely limited—we cannot know the future or all of the other events that are occurring in the world. So we should be careful about using our experiences to make assumptions about life in general. Wrong assumptions lead to wrong conclusions.

Job began to wallow in self-pity. When we face baffling affliction, our pain can lure us toward feeling sorry for ourselves. At this point we are only one step away from self-righteousness, where we keep track of life’s injustices and say, “Look what happened to me; how unfair it is!” We may feel like blaming God.

If you find yourself doubting God, remember that you probably can’t see the whole picture. And when you are struggling, don’t assume the worst. God wants only the very best for you. Many people endure great pain, but ultimately they find some greater good came from it.

Respond

Remember that life’s trials, whether allowed by God or sent by God, can be the means for development and refinement. When facing trials, instead of asking, “Who did this to me and how can I get out of it?” ask, “What can I learn and how can I grow?”

Streams in the Desert – May 31

You will come to your grave in a full age, As stacks of grain are harvested in their season. (Job 5:26)

A gentleman, writing about the breaking up of old ships, recently said that it is not the age alone which improves the quality of the fiber in the wood of an old vessel, but the straining and wrenching of the vessel by the sea, the chemical action of the bilge water, and of many kinds of cargoes.

Some planks and veneers made from an oak beam which had been part of a ship eighty years old were exhibited a few years ago at a fashionable furniture store on Broadway, New York, and attracted general notice for the exquisite coloring and beautiful grain.

Equally striking were some beams of mahogany taken from a bark which sailed the seas sixty years ago. The years and the traffic had contracted the pores and deepened the color, until it looked as superb in its chromatic intensity as an antique Chinese vase. It was made into a cabinet, and has today a place of honor in the drawing-room of a wealthy New York family.

So there is a vast difference between the quality of old people who have lived flabby, self-indulgent, useless lives, and the fiber of those who have sailed all seas and carried all cargoes as the servants of God and the helpers of their fellow men.

Not only the wrenching and straining of life, but also something of the sweetness of the cargoes carried get into the very pores and fiber of character.—Louis Albert Banks

When the sun goes below the horizon he is not set; the heavens glow for a full hour after his departure. And when a great and good man sets, the sky of this world is luminous long after he is out of sight. Such a man cannot die out of this world. When he goes he leaves behind him much of himself. Being dead, he speaks.—Beecher

When Victor Hugo was past eighty years of age he gave expression to his religious faith in these sublime sentences: “I feel in myself the future life. I am like a forest which has been more than once cut down. The new shoots are livelier than ever. I am rising toward the sky. The sunshine is on my head. The earth gives me its generous sap, but Heaven lights me with its unknown worlds.

“You say the soul is nothing but the resultant of the bodily powers. Why, then, is my soul more luminous when my bodily powers begin to fail? Winter is on my head, but eternal spring is in my heart. I breathe at this hour the fragrance of the lilacs, the violets, and the roses as at twenty years. The nearer I approach the end the plainer I hear around me the immortal symphonies of the worlds which invite me. It is marvelous, yet simple.”

Like this:

Many of us were blessed to be born into a loving, caring family; some of us were not so fortunate. But there is a family into which we can be

reborn

—the family of God (see John 1:12). And God is delighted to “[set] the lonely in families” (Psalm 68:6).

I love my earthly family. I was born into a Christian home and have known God all my life. As I grew up, my family separated to different parts of the United States to raise their own families, and I stayed close to where I was born. Do I miss day-to-day activities with members of my birth family? Absolutely!

But I have others nearby who have become part of my circle of friends. I found these wonderful, dear friends in the family of God where I worship. We share faith in God, as well as similar likes and dislikes, goals and aspirations. I have reached out to share my life with these friends, and together our friendships have formed a chosen family—a family in which trust, caring, love and acceptance have flourished, just as in my birth family.

I believe God smiles on us as we work and play together. Laugh and cry together. Strive and thrive together. We are his family, his friends. We belong to him and to one another as we live as friends and “family.” I am so happy we are his friends—his chosen family.

When God Goes Against His Will

But they would not listen to the voice of their father, for the Lord desired to put them to death. (1 Samuel 2:25)

There are three implications of this text for our lives.

1) It is possible to sin so long and so grievously that the Lord will not grant repentance.

That is why Paul said that after all our pleading and teaching, “God may grant them repentance” — not, “will grant them repentance” (2 Timothy 2:25). There is a “too late” in the life of sin. As it says of Esau in Hebrews 12:17, “He found no place for repentance, though he sought for it with tears.” He was forsaken; he could not repent.

This does not mean that those who truly repent even after a whole lifetime of sinning cannot be saved. They certainly can be, and will be! God is staggeringly merciful. Witness the thief on the cross: “Today you will be with me in paradise” (Luke 23:43).

2) God may not permit a sinning person to do what is right.

“But they would not listen to the voice of their father, for the Lord desired to put them to death.” Listening to the voice of their father was the right thing to do. But they would not. Why? “For the Lord desired to put them to death.”

The reason given for why they did not obey their father was that God had other purposes for them, and had given them up to sinning and death. This shows that there are times when the will of God’s decree is different from the revealed will of God’s command.

3) Sometimes our prayers for God’s revealed will to be done will not be done because God has decreed something different for holy and wise purposes.

I suppose that Eli prayed for his sons to be changed. That is how he should have prayed. But God had decreed that Hophni and Phinehas not obey, but rather be slain.

When something like this happens (which we do not ordinarily know ahead of time) while we are crying out to God for change, the answer of God is not: “I don’t love you.” Rather the answer is: “I have wise and holy purposes in not overcoming this sin and not granting repentance. You do not see these purposes now. Trust me. I know what I am doing. I love you.”

Job continues to struggle to understand the reason for his suffering. He imagines presenting his case before God in court.

God’s Ways Don’t Make Sense

Read

“If someone wanted to take God to court, would it be possible to answer him even once in a thousand times? For God is so wise and so mighty. Who has ever challenged him successfully? . . .

“. . . Though I am innocent, my own mouth would pronounce me guilty. Though I am blameless, it would prove me wicked.”
(Job 9:3-4, 20)

Reflect

Job knew that God didn’t owe him anything. Job was alive by the grace of God, even if he was suffering. Job also believed that he had not sinned in a way to deserve such suffering.

Job didn’t think his life warranted such suffering, so he wanted his case presented before God (Job 9:32-35). He recognized, however, that arguing with God would be futile and unproductive (Job 9:4). Job knew that in bringing his case against God, he would only sin by falsely accusing God. “Though I am innocent, my own mouth would pronounce me guilty.”

When we face hardships, whether big or small, we can become indignant, believing that we did nothing to deserve them. Job’s attitude can guide us here. We must be careful to avoid accusing God or believing we’re right and he’s wrong. God is always right, even if we can’t understand our own circumstances. God is always right. Period.

Respond

Like Job, we must live in the fear of the Lord. That wisdom will keep us from sinning. That wisdom will cultivate humility for the times when God’s ways don’t make sense.

Streams in the Desert – May 30

And they were singing a new song before the throne and before the four living creatures and the elders. No one was able to learn the song except the one hundred and forty-four thousand who had been redeemed from the earth. (Rev 14:3)

There are songs which can only be learned in the valley. No art can teach them; no rules of voice can make them perfectly sung. Their music is in the heart. They are songs of memory, of personal experience. They bring out their burden from the shadow of the past; they mount on the wings of yesterday.

St. John says that even in Heaven there will be a song that can only be fully sung by the sons of earth—the strain of redemption. Doubtless it is a song of triumph, a hymn of victory to the Christ who made us free. But the sense of triumph must come from the memory of the chain.

No angel, no archangel can sing it so sweetly as I can. To sing it as I sing it, they must pass through my exile, and this they cannot do. None can learn it but the children of the Cross.

And so, my soul, thou art receiving a music lesson from thy Father. Thou art being educated for the choir invisible. There are parts of the symphony that none can take but thee.

There are chords too minor for the angels. There may be heights in the symphony which are beyond the scale—heights which angels alone can reach; but there are depths which belong to thee, and can only be touched by thee.

Thy Father is training thee for the part the angels cannot sing; and the school is sorrow. I have heard many say that He sends sorrow to prove thee; nay, He sends sorrow to educate thee, to train thee for the choir invisible.

In the night He is preparing thy song. In the valley He is tuning thy voice. In the cloud He is deepening thy chords. In the rain He is sweetening thy melody. In the cold He is moulding thy expression. In the transition from hope to fear He is perfecting thy lights.

Despise not thy school of sorrow, O my soul; it will give thee a unique part in the universal song.—George Matheson

“Is the midnight closing round you?
Are the shadows dark and long?
Ask Him to come close beside you,
And He’ll give you a new, sweet song.
He’ll give it and sing it with you;
And when weakness lets it down,
He’ll take up the broken cadence,
And blend it with His own.

“And many a rapturous minstrel
Among those sons of light,
Will say of His sweetest music
’I learned it in the night.’
And many a rolling anthem,
That fills the Father’s home,
Sobbed out its first rehearsal,
In the shade of a darkened room.”

Like this:

Traditions have great value because they preserve the values and teachings of the past. They remind us of things we might otherwise forget. While living in a foreign land, surrounded by a foreign culture and language, the Jews could have easily forgotten the important events of their history. Future generations could have missed out on how significantly God had dealt with their ancestors. But the Jews used rituals and traditions to avoid historical ignorance. They commemorated the past so they would not forget the lessons learned.

Unfortunately, the rituals “fossilized” over time. People drifted into celebrating the form but forgetting the reality behind it. Their fasting appeared meaningful but had no inner substance. When this or something similar happens, a worship activity becomes an empty ritual or, even worse, a ritual with the wrong meaning attached to it. Often this can occur as a slow erosion of values—a process that eventually destroys the good others intended.

The Payout for Patience

“As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive.” (Genesis 50:20)

The story of Joseph in Genesis 37–50 is a great lesson in why we should have faith in the sovereign future grace of God.

Joseph is sold into slavery by his brothers, which must have tested his patience tremendously. But he is given a good job in Potiphar’s household. Then, when he is acting uprightly in the unplanned place of obedience, Potiphar’s wife lies about his integrity and has him thrown into prison — another great trial to his patience.

But again things turn for the better, and the prison-keeper gives him responsibility and respect. But just when he thinks he is about to get a reprieve from the Pharaoh’s cupbearer, whose dream he interpreted, the cupbearer forgets him for two more years.

Finally, the meaning of all these detours and delays becomes clear. Joseph says to his long-estranged brothers, “God sent me before you to preserve for you a remnant on earth, and to keep alive for you many survivors. . . . As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive” (Genesis 45:7; 50:20).

What would have been the key to patience for Joseph during all those long years of exile and abuse? The answer is: faith in future grace — the sovereign grace of God to turn the unplanned place and the unplanned pace into the happiest ending imaginable.

After listening to Eliphaz and responding to him, Job cries out to God.

The Cry

Read

“I cannot keep from speaking. I must express my anguish. My bitter soul must complain. Am I a sea monster or a dragon that you must place me under guard? I think, ‘My bed will comfort me, and sleep will ease my misery,’ but then you shatter me with dreams and terrify me with visions. I would rather be strangled—rather die than suffer like this. I hate my life and don’t want to go on living. Oh, leave me alone for my few remaining days.

“What are people, that you should make so much of us, that you should think of us so often? For you examine us every morning and test us every moment. Why won’t you leave me alone, at least long enough for me to swallow! If I have sinned, what have I done to you, O watcher of all humanity? Why make me your target? Am I a burden to you? Why not just forgive my sin and take away my guilt? For soon I will lie down in the dust and die. When you look for me, I will be gone.”
(Job 7:11-21)

Reflect

Job stopped talking to Eliphaz and spoke directly to God. He had lived a blameless life, but now he was beginning to doubt the value of living in such a way. By doing this, he was coming dangerously close to suggesting that God didn’t care about him and was not being fair. Later God reproved Job for this attitude (Job 38:2).

Job referred to God as a watcher or observer of humanity. He was expressing his feeling that God seemed like an enemy to him—someone who mercilessly watched him squirm in his misery. We know that God does watch over everything that happens to us. But we must remember that he sees us with compassion. He looks on us with eyes of love.

Job felt deep anguish and bitterness, and he spoke honestly to God about his frustrations. If we express our feelings to God, we can deal with them without exploding in harmful words and actions. Satan always exploits these thoughts to get us to forsake God. Our suffering, like Job’s, may not be the result of our sin, but we must be careful not to sin as a result of our suffering.

Respond

The next time strong emotions threaten to overwhelm you, express them openly to God in prayer. This will help you gain an eternal perspective on the situation and give you greater ability to deal with it constructively.

Streams in the Desert – May 29

I no longer call you slaves, because the slave does not understand what his master is doing. But I have called you friends, because I have revealed to you everything I heard from my Father. (John 15:15)

Years ago there was an old German professor whose beautiful life was a marvel to his students. Some of them resolved to know the secret of it; so one of their number hid in the study where the old professor spent his evenings.

It was late when the teacher came in. He was very tired, but he sat down and spent an hour with his Bible. Then he bowed his head in secret prayer; and finally closing the Book of books, he said,

“Well, Lord Jesus, we’re on the same old terms.”

To know Him is life’s highest attainment; and at all costs, every Christian should strive to be “on the same old terms with Him.”

The reality of Jesus comes as a result of secret prayer, and a personal study of the Bible that is devotional and sympathetic. Christ becomes more real to the one who persists in the cultivation of His presence.

Speak thou to Him for He hears,
And spirit with spirit will meet!
Nearer is He than breathing,
Nearer than hands and feet.
—Maltbie D. Babcock

Like this:

How easy it is to fall into the trap of thinking that God is mostly interested in our spiritual activity. Helping this person, serving on that committee, leading a Bible study, assisting with another church project. All of these things may be important, but God wants us to be with him more than he wants us to do things for him.

When Jesus showed up at her door, Martha rushed into the kitchen and began frantically to whip up a world-class feast. Mary stopped everything she was doing and parked herself in the living room at the feet of Jesus. She lingered in his presence, listening to him, enjoying him, adoring him. When Martha got irritated at her sister, Jesus gently rebuked Martha. He then praised Mary for her priorities.

What about you? Is your tendency to work first or worship first? According to Jesus, your top concern should be to focus on him. When you do, you find a blessing that will never be taken away.

God’s Promise to Me

I will bless those who love me and worship me.

My Prayer to God

Christ Jesus, you hold Mary up as a model of following you. O Lord, our task-oriented world tends to view “get it done” people like Martha in highest regard. And sometimes I buy into this kind of thinking—that spiritual busyness is next to godliness. The top priority you want to see in each of your people is a heart that loves you and longs to be with you. Change me, Lord.

Authentic vs. Phony Faith

Christ also, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, shall appear a second time for salvation without reference to sin, to those who eagerly await him. (Hebrews 9:28)

The question before us all is: Are we included in the “many” whose sins he bore? And will we be saved by his coming “for salvation”?

The answer of Hebrews 9:28 is, “Yes,” if we are “eagerly awaiting him.” We can know that our sins are taken away and that we will be safe in the judgment if we trust Christ in such a way that it makes us eager for his coming.

There is a phony faith that claims to believe in Christ, but is only a fire insurance policy. Phony faith “believes” only to escape hell. It has no real desire for Christ. In fact, it would prefer it if he did not come, so that we can have as much of this world’s pleasures as possible. This shows that a heart is not with Christ, but with the world.

So the issue for us is: Do we eagerly long for the coming of Christ? Or do we want him to wait while our love affair with the world runs its course? That is the question that tests the authenticity of faith.

So let us be like the Corinthians who were “awaiting eagerly the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Corinthians 1:7), and like the Philippians whose “citizenship was in heaven, from which also [they] eagerly waited for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ” (Philippians 3:20).

That’s the issue for us. Do we love his appearing? Or do we love the world and hope that his appearing will not interrupt our worldly plans? Eternity hangs on this question.

Streams in the Desert – May 28

Then the man said, “Let me go, for the dawn is breaking.” “I will not let you go,” Jacob replied, “unless you bless me.” Then Jacob asked, “Please tell me your name.” “Why do you ask my name?” the man replied. Then he blessed Jacob there. (Gen 32:26,29)

Jacob got the victory and the blessing not by wrestling, but by clinging. His limb was out of joint and he could struggle no longer, but he would not let go. Unable to wrestle, he wound his arms around the neck of his mysterious antagonist and hung all his helpless weight upon him, until at last he conquered.

We will not get victory in prayer until we too cease our struggling, giving up our own will and throw our arms about our Father’s neck in clinging faith.

What can puny human strength take by force out of the hand of Omnipotence? Can we wrest blessing by force from God? It is never the violence of wilfulness that prevails with God. It is the might of clinging faith, that gets the blessing and the victories. It is not when we press and urge our own will, but when humility and trust unite in saying, “Not my will, but Thine.” We are strong with God only in the degree that self is conquered and is dead. Not by wrestling, but by clinging can we get the blessing.—J. R. Miller

An incident from the prayer life of Charles H. Usher (illustrating “soul-cling” as a hindrance to prevailing prayer): “My little boy was very ill. The doctors held out little hope of his recovery. I had used all the knowledge of prayer which I possessed on his behalf, but he got worse and worse. This went on for several weeks.

“One day I stood watching him as he lay in his cot, and I saw that he could not live long unless he had a turn for the better. I said to God, ’O God, I have given much time in prayer for my boy and he gets no better; I must now leave him to Thee, and I will give myself to prayer for others. If it is Thy will to take him, I choose Thy will—I surrender him entirely to Thee.’

“I called in my dear wife, and told her what I had done. She shed some tears, but handed him over to God. Two days afterwards a man of God came to see us. He had been very interested in our boy Frank, and had been much in prayer for him.

“He said, ’God has given me faith to believe that he will recover—have you faith?’

“I said, ’I have surrendered him to God, but I will go again to God regarding him.’ I did; and in prayer I discovered that I had faith for his recovery. From that time he began to get better. It was the ’soul-cling’ in my prayers which had hindered God answering; and if I had continued to cling and had been unwilling to surrender him, I doubt if my boy would be with me today.

“Child of God! If you want God to answer your prayers, you must be prepared to follow the footsteps of ’our father Abraham,’ even to the Mount of Sacrifice.” (See Rom. 4:12.)

Job has lost everything and is in despair. His three friends, Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar, come to him and sit with him in silence for seven days (Job 2:11-13). But then they speak. Here Eliphaz offers his perspective.

Just Deserts

Read

“Stop and think! Do the innocent die? When have the upright been destroyed? My experience shows that those who plant trouble and cultivate evil will harvest the same.”
(Job 4:7-8)

Reflect

Although God later rebuked Eliphaz for being wrong in his advice to Job (Job 42:7), not all Eliphaz said was in error. It is true that those who promote sin and trouble will eventually be punished. It is false that anyone who is good and innocent will never suffer.

Although Eliphaz had many good and true comments, he made three wrong assumptions: A good and innocent person never suffers; those who suffer are being punished for their past sins; and Job, because he was suffering, had done something wrong in God’s eyes.

Respond

What about you? Do you assume that everyone gets what they deserve? Do you see other people’s suffering and wonder what they did to deserve it? Do you experience your own suffering and wonder what God is punishing you for?

Be careful in assigning blame when you see someone suffering or when you experience it in your own life. We can come up with explanations as Eliphaz did, but maybe God has something he wants to do in us or through us.

Like this:

Share a time when you worked with a group of people who cooperated well together.

These verses explain one of the ways that the believers in Acts organized their efforts. They worked together to form a system. It wasn’t chaotic. They didn’t waste energy, time or resources. They wanted to work efficiently for God.

They recognized their own abilities and their own limitations. They didn’t run around trying to do everything at once. They didn’t try to do more than they could do, and they worked hard at what they could do. As a result, the church grew, and more and more people came to know Jesus.

Believers today also need to share responsibilities. No one can do it all. And everyone should be doing something. We need to prayerfully consider where our abilities best fit into God’s work. We need to ask God to assign us to tasks that will allow us to best serve him. And as a result, the Word of God will spread.

Prayer

Dear God, please help us to know and use the abilities you have given us. Please also help us to know our own limitations. Amen.

Strength to Wait

May you be strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy. (Colossians 1:11)

Strength is the right word. The apostle Paul prayed for the church at Colossae, that they would be “strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for all endurance and patience” (Colossians 1:11). Patience is the evidence of an inner strength.

Impatient people are weak, and therefore dependent on external supports — like schedules that go just right and circumstances that support their fragile hearts. Their outbursts of oaths and threats and harsh criticisms of the culprits who crossed their plans do not sound weak. But that noise is all a camouflage of weakness. Patience demands tremendous inner strength.

For the Christian, this strength comes from God. That is why Paul is praying for the Colossians. He is asking God to empower them for the patient endurance that the Christian life requires. But when he says that the strength of patience is “according to [God’s] glorious might” he doesn’t just mean that it takes divine power to make a person patient. He means that faith in this glorious might is the channel through which the power for patience comes.

Patience is indeed a fruit of the Holy Spirit (Galatians 5:22), but the Holy Spirit empowers (with all his fruit) through “hearing with faith” (Galatians 3:5). Therefore Paul is praying that God would connect us with the “glorious might” that empowers patience. And that connection is faith.

The events of the book of Job probably took place between 2000 and 1800 b.c., during the era of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

The Proposal

Read

Then the Lord asked Satan, “Have you noticed my servant Job? He is the finest man in all the earth. He is blameless—a man of complete integrity. He fears God and stays away from evil.”

Satan replied to the Lord, “Yes, but Job has good reason to fear God. You have always put a wall of protection around him and his home and his property. You have made him prosper in everything he does. Look how rich he is! But reach out and take away everything he has, and he will surely curse you to your face!”

“All right, you may test him,” the Lord said to Satan. “Do whatever you want with everything he possesses, but don’t harm him physically.” So Satan left the Lord’s presence.
(Job 1:8-12)

Reflect

Any person who is committed to God should expect Satan’s attacks. Job, a blameless and upright man who had been greatly blessed, was a perfect target for Satan. Originally an angel of God, Satan became corrupt through his own pride. He has been evil since his rebellion against God (1 John 3:8). Satan considers God his enemy. He tries to hinder God’s work in people, but he is limited by God’s power and can do only what he is permitted (Luke 22:31-32; 1 Timothy 1:19-20; 2 Timothy 2:23-26). Satan is our enemy because he actively looks for people to attack through temptation (1 Peter 5:8-9) and because he wants to make people hate God. He pursues this goal by using lies and deception (Genesis 3:1-6).

From the conversation between God and Satan, we learn a great deal about Satan. (1) He is accountable to God (Job 1:6). God knew that Satan was intent on attacking Job. (2) Satan can be at only one place at a time (Job 1:6-7). Satan’s demons aid him in his work; but as a created being, he is limited. (3) Satan cannot see into our minds or foretell the future (Job 1:9-11). (4) Because Satan can do nothing without God’s permission (Job 1:12), God’s people can overcome his attacks by trusting in God’s power. (5) God limits what Satan can do (Job 1:12; 2:6). Satan’s response to the Lord’s question (Job 1:7) tells us that Satan is real and active on earth. Knowing this about Satan should cause us to remain close to the one who is greater than Satan—God himself.

Respond

Although God loves us, believing and obeying him does not shelter us from life’s calamities. In our tests and trials, God calls us to remain faithful and continue following him. How do you respond to your troubles? Do you ask God, “Why me?” or do you say, “Use me!”? Commit yourself to being faithful no matter what happens.

Streams in the Desert – May 27

“Bring them here to me,” he replied. (Matt 14:18)

Are you encompassed with needs at this very moment, and almost overwhelmed with difficulties, trials, and emergencies? These are all divinely provided vessels for the Holy Spirit to fill, and if you but rightly understood their meaning, they would become opportunities for receiving new blessings and deliverances which you can get in no other way.

Bring these vessels to God. Hold them steadily before Him in faith and prayer. Keep still, and stop your own restless working until He begins to work. Do nothing that He does not Himself command you to do. Give Him a chance to work, and He will surely do so; and the very trials that threatened to overcome you with discouragement and disaster, will become God’s opportunity for the revelation of His grace and glory in your life, as you have never known Him before. “Bring them (all needs) to me.”—A. B. Simpson

“My God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus” (Phil. 4:19).

What a source—“God!” What a supply—“His riches in glory!” What a channel—“Christ Jesus!” It is your sweet privilege to place all your need over against His riches, and lose sight of the former in the presence of the latter. His exhaustless treasury is thrown open to you, in all the love of His heart; go and draw upon it, in the artless simplicity of faith, and you will never have occasion to look to a creature-stream, or lean on a creature-prop.—C. H. M.

“MY CUP RUNNETH OVER”

There is always something over,
When we trust our gracious Lord;
Every cup He fills o’erfloweth,
His great rivers all are broad.
Nothing narrow, nothing stinted,
Ever issues from His store;
To His own He gives full measure,
Running over, evermore.

There is always something over,
When we, from the Father’s hand,
Take our portion with thanksgiving,
Praising for the path He planned.
Satisfaction, full and deepening,
Fills the soul, and lights the eye,
When the heart has trusted Jesus
All its need to satisfy.

There is always something over,
When we tell of all His love;
Unplumbed depths still lie beneath us,
Unsealed heights rise far above:
Human lips can never utter
All His wondrous tenderness,
We can only praise and wonder,
And His name forever bless.

—Margaret E. Barber

“How can He but, in giving Him, lavish on us all things” (Rom. 8:32).

Our Required Work

Suppose you gave me a gift. Let’s say you presented me with a new tie. I take it out of the box and examine it. I say thank you and then reach for my wallet. “Now how much do I owe you?” I ask.

You think I am kidding. “It’s a gift,” you say. “You don’t need to pay me.”

“Oh, I understand,” I respond, but then show I don’t by asking, “Could I write you a check?”

You’re stunned. “I don’t want you to pay me. I want you to accept the gift.”

“Oh, I see,” I respond. “Perhaps I could do some work around your house in exchange for the tie?”

“You just don’t get it, do you?” you state firmly. “I want to give this to you. It is a present. You can’t buy a present.”

“Oh, forgive me,” I hasten. “Perhaps if I promised to purchase you a tie in return.”

By this time you’re insulted. In trying to buy your gift I have degraded your grace. I have robbed you of the joy of giving.

How often we rob God.

Have you ever considered what an insult it is to God when we try to pay him for his goodness? God loves a cheerful giver because he is a cheerful giver. If we, who are evil, enjoy giving gifts, how much more does he? If we, who are human, are offended when people want to turn our gift into a bribe, how much more is God?

Spend some moments slowly reading the response of Jesus to their question, “What are the things God wants us to do?” (John 6:28).

Jesus replied: “The work God wants you to do is this …”

Can’t you see the people lean closer, their minds racing? “What is the work he wants us to do? Pray more? Give more? Study? Travel? Memorize the Torah? What is the work he wants?” Sly is this scheme of Satan. Rather than lead us away from grace, he causes us to question grace or to earn it … and in the end we never even know it.

What is it, then, that God wants us to do? What is the work he seeks? Just believe. Believe the One he sent. “The work God wants you to do is this: Believe the One he sent.”

Share this:

Like this:

God wants employers to not only be fair but also to be compassionate, not coldhearted. The practice of paying wages each day ensured that the poor, who lived literally hand to mouth, would not be hungry while waiting for their pay.

Do you own a business? What a wonderful reputation you could achieve if your business would treat all employees with dignity and fairness and pay all its bills on time!

God’s Design in Detours

And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. (Colossians 3:17)

Have you ever wondered what God is doing while you are looking in the wrong place for something you lost and needed very badly? He knows exactly where it is, and he is letting you look in the wrong place.

I once needed a quote for a new edition of my book Desiring God. I knew I had read it in Richard Wurmbrand. I thought it was in his devotional book, Reaching Toward the Heights. I could almost see it on the right hand side of the facing pages. But I couldn’t find it.

But while I was looking, I was riveted on one page, the devotional for November 30. As I read it, I said, “This is one of the reasons I have had to keep looking for my quote.” Here was a story, not for me, but for parents of broken children.

Having broken children is like looking in the wrong place for what you have lost and cannot find. Why? Why? Why? This was the unplanned reward of “wasted” moments.

In a home for retarded children, Catherine was nurtured twenty years. The child had been [mentally handicapped] from the beginning and had never spoken a word, but only vegetated. She either gazed quietly at the walls or made distorted movements. To eat, to drink, to sleep, were her whole life. She seemed not to participate at all in what happened around her. A leg had to be amputated. The staff wished Cathy well and hoped that the Lord would soon take her to Himself.

One day the doctor called the director to come quickly. Catherine was dying. When both entered the room, they could not believe their senses. Catherine was singing Christian hymns she had heard and had picked up, just those suitable for death beds. She repeated over and over again the German song, “Where does the soul find its fatherland, its rest?” She sang for half an hour with transfigured face, then she passed away quietly. (Taken from The Best Is Still to Come, Wuppertal: Sonne und Shild)

Is anything that is done in the name of Christ really wasted?

My frustrated, futile search for what I thought I needed was not wasted. Singing to this disabled child was not wasted. And your agonizing, unplanned detour is not a waste — not if you look to the Lord for his unexpected work, and do what you must do in his name (Colossians 3:17). The Lord works for those who wait for him (Isaiah 64:4).

Jacob continues his last words to each of his sons, sharing both positive and negative feelings and predictions—blessings as well as curses.

Famous Last Words

Read

“Reuben, you are my firstborn, my strength, the child of my vigorous youth. You are first in rank and first in power. But you are as unruly as a flood, and you will be first no longer. For you went to bed with my wife; you defiled my marriage couch. . . .

“Judah, your brothers will praise you. You will grasp your enemies by the neck. All your relatives will bow before you. Judah, my son, is a young lion that has finished eating its prey. Like a lion he crouches and lies down; like a lioness—who dares to rouse him? The scepter will not depart from Judah, nor the ruler’s staff from his descendants, until the coming of the one to whom it belongs, the one whom all nations will honor.”
(Genesis 49:3-4, 8-10)

Reflect

Jacob spoke to his sons individually, blessing some and making predictions about their futures. The way the men had lived their lives played an important part in Jacob’s prophecies.

The oldest son was supposed to receive a double inheritance, but Reuben lost his special honor because of his actions. Unruly and untrustworthy, especially in his younger days, he had gone so far as to sleep with one of his father’s concubines. Jacob could not give the birthright blessing to such a dishonorable son.

Judah had sold Joseph into slavery and tried to defraud his daughter-in-law. So why did Jacob grant him this blessing? Judah had demonstrated a dramatic change of character (Genesis 44:33-34). Moreover, God had chosen Judah to be the ancestor of Israel’s line of kings. This would fulfill Jacob’s words, “The scepter will not depart from Judah.” Judah’s line would produce the promised Messiah, Jesus.

Like Jacob’s sons, our pasts also affect our present and future. By sunrise tomorrow, our actions of today will have become part of the past. Yet they will already have begun to affect the future.

Respond

What actions can you choose or avoid today that will positively shape your future?

Streams in the Desert – May 26

This was a strange song and a strange well. They had been traveling over the desert’s barren sands, no water was in sight and they were famishing with thirst. Then God spake to Moses and said:

“Gather the people together, and I will give them water,” and this is how it came.

They gathered in circles on the sands. They took their staves and dug deep down into the burning earth and as they dug, they sang,

“Spring up, O well, sing ye unto it,” and lo, there came a gurgling sound, a rush of water and a flowing stream which filled the well and ran along the ground.

When they dug this well in the desert, they touched the stream that was running beneath, and reached the flowing tides that had long been out of sight.

How beautiful the picture given, telling us of the river of blessing that flows all through our lives, and we have only to reach by faith and praise to find our wants supplied in the most barren desert.

How did they reach the waters of this well? It was by praise. They sang upon the sand their song of faith, while with their staff of promise they dug the well.

Our praise will still open fountains in the desert, when murmuring will only bring us judgment, and even prayer may fail to reach the fountains of blessing.

There is nothing that pleases the Lord so much as praise. There is no test of faith so true as the grace of thanksgiving. Are you praising God enough? Are you thanking Him for your actual blessings that are more than can be numbered, and are you daring to praise Him even for those trials which are but blessings in disguise? Have you learned to praise Him in advance for the things that have not yet come?—Selected

Share this:

Like this:

Jesus probably won’t ask you to leave your business (as Peter and Andrew did) to follow him full time. He will, however, expect you to let him be involved in all aspects of your life—including your business.

As a spiritual explorer, it’s important for you to understand that you can’t just add Jesus into your life by fitting him into your schedule somewhere. Following Jesus requires a complete life commitment. He is your God and king, your forgiver and leader and comforter.

The Bedrock of Your Assurance

God chose you from the beginning to be saved through sanctification by the Spirit. (2 Thessalonians 2:13)

Dozens of passages in the Bible speak of our final salvation (though not our election) as conditional upon a changed heart and life. The question arises then, how can I have the assurance I will persevere in faith and in the holiness necessary for inheriting eternal life?

The answer is that assurance is rooted in our election (2 Peter 1:10). Divine election is the guarantee that God will undertake to complete by sanctifying grace what his electing grace has begun.

This is the meaning of the new covenant: God does not merely command obedience, he gives it. “The LORD your God will circumcise your heart and the heart of your offspring, so that you will love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul, that you may live” (Deuteronomy 30:6). “I will put my Spirit within you and cause you to walk in my statutes” (Ezekiel 36:27; 11:20).

Election secures that “those who are justified will be glorified” (Romans 8:30), so that all the conditions laid down for glorification will be met by the power of God’s grace.

Election is the final ground of assurance because, since it is God’s commitment to save, it is also God’s commitment to enable all that is necessary for salvation.

Jacob is quite old and nearing death. The time has come for him to give his final blessings to his sons.

Jacob’s Blessings

Read

Joseph moved the boys, who were at their grandfather’s knees, and he bowed with his face to the ground. Then he positioned the boys in front of Jacob. With his right hand he directed Ephraim toward Jacob’s left hand, and with his left hand he put Manasseh at Jacob’s right hand. But Jacob crossed his arms as he reached out to lay his hands on the boys’ heads. He put his right hand on the head of Ephraim, though he was the younger boy, and his left hand on the head of Manasseh, though he was the firstborn.
(Genesis 48:12-14)

Reflect

When Joseph became a slave, Jacob thought he was dead and wept in despair (Genesis 37:34). But eventually God’s plan allowed Jacob to regain not only his son but his grandchildren as well. This dramatic turn of events shows that circumstances are never beyond God’s reach. Jacob regained his son. Job got a new family (Job 42:10-17). Mary and Martha regained their brother Lazarus (John 11:1-44). We need never despair because we belong to a loving God. We don’t yet know what good he may bring out of a seemingly hopeless situation.

Jacob included Joseph’s sons in his blessings. These verbal blessings were very important, carrying the weight of a “last will and testament.” Jacob surprised Joseph by giving Ephraim the greater blessing, even though he was younger. When Joseph tried to correct his father, Jacob refused to listen because God had told him that Ephraim would become greater. Then Jacob blessed Joseph, the son he thought he would never see again.

God often works in unexpected ways. He certainly did when he restored Joseph to his family. And when God chooses people to be part of his plans, he always goes deeper than appearance, tradition, or position. He sometimes surprises us by choosing the person that human reasoning sets aside.

Respond

God can use you to carry out his plans, even if you don’t think you have all the qualifications or face seemingly insurmountable obstacles. Look for how God can work through you and for you in every situation, even those that seem hopeless.

Streams in the Desert – May 25

So I endure all things for the sake of those chosen by God, that they too may obtain salvation in Christ Jesus and its eternal glory. (2 Tim 2:10)

If Job could have known as he sat there in the ashes, bruising his heart on this problem of Providence—that in the trouble that had come upon him he was doing what one man may do to work out the problem for the world, he might again have taken courage. No man lives to himself. Job’s life is but your life and mine written in larger text….So, then, though we may not know what trials wait on any of us, we can believe that, as the days in which Job wrestled with his dark maladies are the only days that make him worth remembrance, and but for which his name had never been written in the book of life, so the days through which we struggle, finding no way, but never losing the light, will be the most significant we are called to live.—Robert Collye

Who does not know that our most sorrowful days have been amongst our best? When the face is wreathed in smiles and we trip lightly over meadows bespangled with spring flowers, the heart is often running to waste.

The soul which is always blithe and gay misses the deepest life. It has its reward, and it is satisfied to its measure, though that measure is a very scanty one. But the heart is dwarfed; and the nature, which is capable of the highest heights, the deepest depths, is undeveloped; and life presently burns down to its socket without having known the resonance of the deepest chords of joy.

“Blessed are they that mourn.” Stars shine brightest in the long dark night of winter. The gentians show their fairest bloom amid almost inaccessible heights of snow and ice.

God’s promises seem to wait for the pressure of pain to trample out their richest juice as in a wine-press. Only those who have sorrowed know how tender is the “Man of Sorrows.”—Selected

Thou hast but little sunshine, but thy long glooms are wisely appointed thee; for perhaps a stretch of summer weather would have made thee as a parched land and barren wilderness. Thy Lord knows best, and He has the clouds and the sun at His disposal.—Selected

“It is a gray day.” “Yes, but dinna ye see the patch of blue?”—Scotch Shoemaker

When Adam Brown woke up on March 17, 2010, he didn’t know he would die that night in the Hindu Kush mountains of Afghanistan—but he was ready.

Seven thousand miles away, in a suburb of Virginia Beach, his ten-year-old son, Nathan, was worried about him.

From the moment he’d opened his eyes that morning, he felt something bad was going to happen to his daddy, but he kept it to himself, rolled out of bed, and got ready for school. It was Saint Patrick’s Day, and he made sure to wear something green so he wouldn’t get pinched.

On a previous deployment, Adam had written in his journal to both Nathan and Savannah, Nathan’s seven-year-old sister, a letter they weren’t meant to see unless the worst happened:

I’m not afraid of anything that might happen to me on this Earth because I know no matter what, nothing can take my spirit from me.… How much it pains me…to think about not watching my boy excel in life, or giving my little baby girl away in marriage.… Buddy, I’ll be there, you’ll feel me there when you steal your first base, smash someone on the football field, make all A’s. I’ll be there for all of your achievements. But much more, Buddy, I’ll be there for every failure. Remember, I know tears, I know pain and disappointment, and I will be there for you with every drop. You cannot disappoint me. I understand!

I will be there for you

Adam Brown did understand what it meant to disappoint, to feel the shame he’d experienced on a hot, humid August afternoon years earlier when his parents had him arrested. “It’s time for you to face what you’ve done,” his father had told him in 1996, just before Adam was handcuffed and escorted to the backseat of the Garland County sheriff’s cruiser. When the deputy slammed the car door shut, Adam watched his mother’s legs buckle, and as she collapsed, his dad caught her and held her tightly against him. She began to cry, and Adam knew he had broken her heart.

That vision—of his mother sobbing into his father’s chest—would haunt him for the rest of his life, but it also sparked the journey that defined who he would become. Officially known as a Chief Special Warfare Operator (SEAL), Adam Brown was one of the most respected Special Operations warriors in the U.S. Navy. Before May 2011, details about Adam’s unit—popularly called SEAL Team SIX—were neither confirmed nor commented on by the Pentagon and the White House. One night changed everything; the wave of publicity following Osama bin Laden’s death thrust the little-known unit into the spotlight.

While prepping his equipment for his next mission, Adam folded the Arkansas flag his brother, Shawn, had given him. He always carried it into battle, tucking it proudly between his body armor and his uniform. Every SEAL who encountered Adam Brown knew in short order where he was from. He loved his home state right down to the dirt. “It is the one state in our country that can sustain itself,” he’d tell you while explaining his Arkansas Bubble Theory. “Y’all could put a bubble over it, cut us off from importing anything from the rest of the world, and we would not only survive, we would eat well and prosper.”

To read more about the courage, determination, and ultimate sacrifice of Adam Brown, one of SEAL Team SIX’s most legendary operators, check out the book FEARLESS,

Share this:

Like this:

Everybody has a vocation to some form of life work. But behind that and deeper than that, everybody has a vocation to be a person, to be fully and deeply a human being, to be Christlike. And the second thing is more important than the first. It is more important to be a great person than a great teacher, butcher or candlestick maker.

Is Christ Worth It?

If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple. Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple. (Luke 14:26–27)

Jesus is unashamed and unafraid of telling us up front the “worst” — the painful cost of being a Christian: hating family (v. 26), carrying a cross (v. 27), renouncing possessions (v. 33). There is no small print in the covenant of grace. It is all big, and bold. No cheap grace! Very costly! Come, and be my disciple.

But Satan hides his worst and shows only his best. All that really matters in the deal with Satan is in small print on the back page.

On the front page in big, bold letters are the words, “You will not surely die” (Genesis 3:4), and “All these things I will give to you, if you fall down and worship me” (Matthew 4:9). But on the back page in small print — so small you can only read it with the magnifying glass of the Bible — it says: “And after the fleeting pleasures, you will suffer with me forever in hell.”

Why is Jesus willing to show us his “worst” as well as his best, while Satan will only show us his best? Matthew Henry answers, “Satan shows the best, but hides the worst, because his best will not [counterbalance] his worst; but Christ’s will abundantly.”

The call of Jesus is not just a call to suffering and self–denial; it is first a call to a banquet. This is the point of the parable in Luke 14:16–24. Jesus also promises a glorious resurrection where all the losses of this life will be repaid (Luke 14:14). He also tells us that he will help us endure the hardships (Luke 22:32). He also tells us he will give us the Holy Spirit (Luke 11:13). He promises that even if we are killed for the kingdom, “not a hair of your head will perish” (Luke 21:18).

Which means that when we sit down to calculate the cost of following Jesus — when we weigh the “worst” and the “best” — he is worth it. Abundantly worth it (see Romans 8:18).

Not so with Satan. Stolen bread is sweet, but afterward the mouth is full of gravel (see Proverbs 20:17).

When Jacob learns that Joseph is alive, he moves from Canaan to Egypt with his entire family.

On the Road Again

Read

So Jacob set out for Egypt with all his possessions. And when he came to Beersheba, he offered sacrifices to the God of his father, Isaac. During the night God spoke to him in a vision. “Jacob! Jacob!” he called.

“Here I am,” Jacob replied.

“I am God, the God of your father,” the voice said. “Do not be afraid to go down to Egypt, for there I will make your family into a great nation. I will go with you down to Egypt, and I will bring you back again. You will die in Egypt, but Joseph will be with you to close your eyes.”
(Genesis 46:1-4)

Reflect

God told Jacob to leave his home and travel to a strange and faraway land. But God reassured him by promising to go with him and take care of him.

God reminded Jacob of the covenant promise he had made to Abraham: He would be the father of a great nation (Genesis 15:1-6). While in Egypt, the Israelites did become a great nation, and Jacob’s descendants eventually returned to Canaan. Jacob himself never returned to Canaan, but God promised that his descendants would return. That Jacob would die in Egypt with Joseph at his side was God’s promise to Jacob that he would never know the pain of being lonely again. The book of Exodus recounts the story of Israel’s slavery in Egypt for 400 years (fulfilling God’s words to Abram in Genesis 15:13-16), and the book of Joshua gives an exciting account of the Israelites entering and conquering Canaan, the Promised Land.

God made several promises to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and he fulfilled them all, even though these men wavered in their faith from time to time and did not always live as they should. Fortunately, God’s actions in the world will be fulfilled with or without our cooperation. He has plans and will accomplish them—and God always keeps his promises.

Respond

Thank God for his love and guidance and ask him for faith to trust him more and for strength to do his will.

Streams in the Desert – May 24

Sarah bare Abraham a son in his old age, at the set time of which God had spoken to him (Gen. 21:2).

The counsel of the Lord standS forever, the thoughts of His heart to all generations” (Psalm 33:11). But we must be prepared to wait God’s time. God has His set times. It is not for us to know them; indeed, we cannot know them; we must wait for them.

If God had told Abraham in Haran that he must wait for thirty years until he pressed the promised child to his bosom, his heart would have failed him. So, in gracious love, the length of the weary years was hidden, and only as they were nearly spent, and there were only a few more months to wait, God told him that “according to the time of life, Sarah shall have a son.” (Gen. 18:14). The set time came at last; and then the laughter that filled the patriarch’s home made the aged pair forget the long and weary vigil.

Take heart, waiting one, thou wait for One who cannot disappoint thee; and who will not be five minutes behind the appointed moment: ere long “your sorrow shall be turned into joy.”

It is not for us who are passengers, to meddle with the chart and with the compass. Let that all-skilled Pilot alone with His own work.–Hall

“Some things cannot be done in a day. God does not make a sunset glory in a moment, but for days may be massing the mist out of which He builds His palaces beautiful in the west.”

Some glorious morn–but when? Ah, who shall say?
The steepest mountain will become a plain,
And the parched land be satisfied with rain.
The gates of brass all broken; iron bars,
Transfigured, form a ladder to the stars.
Rough places plain, and crooked ways all straight,
For him who with a patient heart can wait.
These things shall be on God’s appointed day:
It may not be tomorrow–yet it may.

Like this:

Attitudes about work generally run between two extremes. One extreme is the workaholic, with cell phone in one hand, BlackBerry in the other, and a computer open on their lap.

The other extreme is the person who views a job only as a necessary evil, a means to a paycheck. Leisure is the name of the game. This person exists for the weekends.

Neither extreme is Biblical.

Paul wrote to the Thessalonians concerning their attitude about work and the influence it had on their community. He told them to make it their ambition to lead a quiet life and to work with their hands “so that your daily life may win the respect of outsiders and so that you will not be dependent on anybody” (1 Thessalonians 4:12).

Some of the Thessalonian believers were hard workers, but others had become idle, and, with nothing to do, they had become busybodies. Paul told them in his second letter, “The one who is unwilling to work shall not eat” (2 Thessalonians 3:10). . . .

The apostle Paul told Timothy, ”Anyone who does not provide for their relatives . . . has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever” (1 Timothy 5:8). But work goes beyond merely providing for our families, as important as that is. Our occupations are not just about earning a living; they are about how we live.

Whatever our job is, it is a vocation for the glory of God: A garbage collector helps make creation more beautiful for the glory of God. A mason or roofer builds for the glory of God. A teacher molds the minds of others for the glory of God. Our jobs, and our attitudes toward them, show others how we love God and strive to serve him in all we do.

The creation accounts in Genesis 1 and 2 show us that God called the first couple to exercise dominion over the earth in general and to work the Garden of Eden in particular. We are also called to work, and whether we have jobs outside the home or inside the home, work is good because it’s from God. One of the best things we can do for each other in marriage is to hold our spouse’s work in high esteem. We are to “spur one another on toward love and good deeds” (Hebrews 10:24), to bring out the best in each other, to build each other’s self-respect and sense of worth. We are to help each other model Christlike behavior, which includes earning a living. Our Savior himself labored as a carpenter before beginning his ministry as a teacher.

Jesus Knows His Sheep

John 10:3 is a close parallel to verse 27. It says, “The sheep hear his voice, he calls his own sheep by name, and he leads them out.”

So when Jesus says, “I know them,” this means at least that he knows them by name; that is, he knows them individually and intimately. They are not anonymous, lost in the flock.

Verse 14 provides another insight: “I am the good shepherd, and I know my own and my own know me, even as the Father knows me and I know the Father.”

There is a real similarity between the way Jesus knows his Father in heaven and the way he knows his sheep. Jesus sees himself in the Father, and he sees himself in his disciples.

To some degree Jesus recognizes his own character in his disciples. He sees his own brand mark on the sheep.

He is like a husband waiting for his wife at the airport, watching as each person disembarks from the plane. When she appears, he knows her, he recognizes her features, he delights in her, she is the only one he embraces.

The apostle Paul puts it like this: “The firm foundation of God stands, having this seal, ‘The Lord knows those who are his’” (2 Timothy 2:19).

It is hard to overemphasize what a tremendous privilege it is to be known personally, intimately, lovingly by the Son of God. It is a precious gift to all his sheep, and it contains within it the promise of eternal life.

Joseph’s brothers return to Egypt for help a second time. When his youngest brother is doomed to slavery, Judah defends him.

Just Judah

Read

“My lord, I guaranteed to my father that I would take care of the boy. I told him, ‘If I don’t bring him back to you, I will bear the blame forever.’

“So please, my lord, let me stay here as a slave instead of the boy, and let the boy return with his brothers. For how can I return to my father if the boy is not with me? I couldn’t bear to see the anguish this would cause my father!”
(Genesis 44:32-34)

Reflect

When Judah was younger, he had shown no regard for his brother Joseph or his father, Jacob. First he had convinced his brothers to sell Joseph as a slave (Genesis 37:27); then he had joined his brothers in lying to their father about Joseph’s fate (Genesis 37:32). But what a change had taken place in Judah! The man who had sold one favored little brother into slavery now offered himself as a slave to save another favored little brother. Judah was so concerned for his father and younger brother that he was willing to die for them. When you are ready to give up hope on yourself or someone else, Judah serves as a powerful reminder that God can work a complete change in even the most selfish personality.

Judah had promised Jacob that he would protect young Benjamin (Genesis 43:9). Now Judah had a chance to keep that promise. Becoming a slave was a terrible fate, but Judah was determined to keep his word. He showed great courage in carrying out his promise. Accepting a responsibility means carrying it out with determination and courage, even in the face of personal sacrifice.

Joseph wanted to see if his brothers’ attitudes had changed for the better, so he tested the way they treated each other. Judah, the brother who had come up with the plan to sell Joseph, now stepped in to take Benjamin’s punishment. This courageous act convinced Joseph.

Respond

Judah put his life on the line, defending himself and his brothers and pleading for mercy. And he offered to put himself in Benjamin’s place. At times we should be silent, but at times we should speak up, even if we could suffer for it. When you face a situation that needs a strong voice and courageous action, remember Judah, ask God for help, and speak up.

Streams in the Desert – May 23

At their wit’s end, they cry unto the Lord in their trouble, and he brings them out” (Ps. 107:27, 28).

Are you standing at “Wit’s End Corner,”
Christian, with troubled brow?
Are you thinking of what is before you,
And all you are bearing now?
Does all the world seem against you,
And you in the battle alone?
Remember–at “Wit’s End Corner”
Is just where God’s power is shown.
Are you standing at “Wit’s End Corner,”
Blinded with wearying pain,
Feeling you cannot endure it,
You cannot bear the strain,
Bruised through the constant suffering,
Dizzy, and dazed, and numb?
Remember–at “Wit’s End Corner”
Is where Jesus loves to come.
Are you standing at “Wit’s End Corner”?
Your work before you spread,
All lying begun, unfinished,
And pressing on heart and head,
Longing for strength to do it,
Stretching out trembling hands?
Remember–at. “Wit’s End Corner”
The Burden-bearer stands.
Are you standing at “Wit’s End Corner”?
Then you’re just in the very spot
To learn the wondrous resources
Of Him who failed not:
No doubt to a brighter pathway
Your footsteps will soon be moved,
But only at “Wit’s End Corner”Is the “God who is able” proved.
–Antoinette Wilson

Do not get discouraged; it may be the last key in the bunch that opens the door.–Stansifer

Share this:

Like this:

Many women struggle with the “need” to please everyone. But we simply can’t be everywhere at once. We can’t even do everything we would like to do. Trying to be all things to all people puts us on the fast track to burnout. But when we delegate, we are freed up to focus on the things God has given us to do.

Delegating also creates the opportunity for another capable person to grow into a new role. The people around Moses might never have become leaders if he hadn’t given them the opportunity. It’s the same for us today. Sometimes the best thing we can do for others and ourselves is to step aside so someone else can step up.

Reflect & Pray:

What are your highest priorities?

Can you release a current responsibility to someone else and encourage that person to grow?

What chores can you delegate to your children so they can grow and learn to serve others?

God Works for You

I lift up my eyes to the hills. From where does my help come? My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth. He will not let your foot be moved, he who keeps you will not slumber. (Psalm 121:1–3)

Do you need help? I do. Where do you look for help?

When the Psalmist lifted up his eyes to the hills and asked, “From where does my help come?” he answered, “My help comes from the Lord” — not from the hills, but from the God who made the hills.

So he reminded himself of two great truths: one is that God is a mighty Creator over all the problems of life; the other is that God never sleeps.

God is a tireless worker. Think of God as a worker in your life. Yes, it is amazing. We are prone to think of ourselves as workers in God’s life. But the Bible wants us first to be amazed that God is a worker in our lives: “From of old no one has heard or perceived by the ear, no eye has seen a God besides thee, who works for those who wait for him” (Isaiah 64:4).

God is working for us around the clock. He does not take days off and he does not sleep. In fact he is so eager to work for us that he goes around looking for more work to do for people who will trust him: “The eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show his might in behalf of those whose heart is whole toward him” (2 Chronicles 16:9).

God loves to show his tireless power and wisdom and goodness by working for people who trust him. Jesus was the main way the Father showed this: “The Son of man came not to be served but to serve” (Mark 10:45). Jesus works for his followers. He serves them.

Surviving the Famine

Read

Reflect

Jacob and his sons had no relief from the famine. God’s overall plan included sending them to Egypt, reuniting them with Joseph, and feeding them from Egypt’s storehouses. But this bigger picture wasn’t apparent to them.

Suffering and hardship never end quickly enough. Waiting for God to intervene can test us to the breaking point. But remaining faithful to God is an opportunity to learn greater trust and dependence. In other words, we build a deeper, closer relationship with God. Suffering may cause us to question God’s goodness; faithfulness is the path we must travel to uncover that goodness.

This was what Jacob and his sons discovered. God had been working for good throughout the famine.

Respond

If you are facing suffering or hardship and God is not bringing relief as quickly as you would like, remember that he is working for good in the meantime. Echo the words of Psalm 119:81, and ask God for the strength to remain faithful.

Streams in the Desert – May 22

He worketh (Ps. 37:5).

The translation that we find in Young of “Commit thy way unto the Lord; trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass,” reads: “Roll upon Jehovah thy way; trust upon him: and he worketh.” It calls our attention to the immediate action of God when we truly commit, or roll out of our hands into His, the burden of whatever kind it may be; a way of sorrow, of difficulty, of physical need, or of anxiety for the conversion of some dear one.

“He worketh.” When? Now. We are so in danger of postponing our expectation of His acceptance of the trust, and His undertaking to accomplish what we ask Him to do, instead of saying as we commit, “He worketh.” “He worketh” even now; and praise Him that it is so.

The very expectancy enables the Holy Spirit to do the very thing we have rolled upon Him. It is out of our reach. We are not trying to do it any more. “He worketh!” Let us take the comfort out of it and not put our hands on it again. Oh, what a relief it brings! He is really working on the difficulty.

But someone may say, “I see no results.” Never mind.

“He worketh,” if you have rolled it over and are looking to Jesus to do it. Faith may be tested, but “He worketh”; the Word is sure!–V. H. F.

I will cry unto God most high; unto God that performeth all things for me (Ps. 57:2)

The beautiful old translation says, “He shall perform the cause which I have in hand.” Does not that make it very real to us today? Just the very thing that “I have in hand”–my own particular bit of work today, this cause that I cannot manage, this thing that I undertook in miscalculation of my own powers–this is what I may ask Him to do “for me,” and rest assured that He will perform it. “The wise and their works are in the hands of God.”–Havergal

The Lord will go through with His covenant engagements. Whatever He takes in hand He will accomplish; hence past mercies are guarantees for the future and admirable reasons for continuing to cry unto Him.–C. H. Spurgeon